The Call
by erentitanjaeger
Summary: I'm not a doctor, I'm not a cop or a fire fighter. Hell, I'm not even a news reporter. I work behind the scenes. All the crime, accidents and basic human drama that goes on in this city goes through me first. I don't save lives, I direct those who do in the direction of who needs to be saved. I'm an emergency call operator. Ereri


My life consists of three things; coffee, sleep and phones.

I used the coffee to keep me sane. It was easier for me to concentrate on the bitter taste clinging to my tongue than it was trying to concentrate on counting to ten so I wouldn't hit anybody.

I used the sleep to reset, to help me relax long enough so I could enter each day with a new mindset, determined to get things done efficiently and correctly with as little screw ups as possible.

I used the phones to do my job. I listened to someone screaming at me on the other line, I did my best to find out why they were screaming, then I notified the cops and sent them on their way. Every time I knew exactly where they were going, exactly who they're looking for, exactly who will lose and exactly who will win.

Don't get me wrong, I like my job. The pay is good, and there's certainly enough excitement during my day to keep me from looking for my own when I leave the office. Like every job, I have my good days and I have my bad days. Days where I wish I was anywhere but here (including on the moon with no space suit) and days where I actually believe I'm making a difference.

Even if I'm not.

People think I save lives.

I don't.

I'm not a doctor, I'm not a cop or a fire fighter. Hell, I'm not even a news reporter. I work behind the scenes. All the crime, accidents and basic human drama that goes on in this city goes through me first. I don't save lives, I direct those who do in the direction of who needs to be saved. I'm an emergency call operator.

Interesting, right? Hardly. I sit at a desk. I take a call. I tell them to calm down and to not shoot anybody. I report it to the police, or get the fire fighters on it. I hang up. Done. That's all I do. That's all I've ever wanted to do.

"And here I'd like to introduce you to one of our best operators we have here. He's known for his honest disinterest in everything he does as well as his ability to stay calm through any situation no matter how dire the circumstances. His indifference has become famous in emergency call operating facilities throughout the nation; you'd all do well to learn everything you can from him. Or at least, everything he's willing to teach you."

Shit. That voice was always the death of me. Every, single fucking day. I tried to hunch my shoulders up, seem far more interested than I actually was in what I was doing. I told the person on the other end that it was pretty common for a microwave to blow up if you stuck a firecracker in it (Friday afternoon, drunk teenagers home alone, need I say more?).

"Levi!"

Shit, again. I aimed the fire fighters toward the house, telling the idiot on the other end to stay away from the kitchen until they got there and try not to do anything stupid. It was basically my job to always assume no one has any common sense.

"Go away, Erwin," I told the man bluntly as I hit the button that told everybody I wasn't available for thirty seconds while I collected my thoughts. Erwin was in charge of the entire office, but every once and a while he took it upon himself to help the new recruits settle in, taking them through the basic procedures of handling the network and letting them get a feel of the hell they had chosen to take part in for the rest of their lives. The fucking sap.

"Don't be rude, Levi," Erwin scolded, clapping me on the shoulder. About eight or nine people in their early twenties circled around my desk, their eyes curiously scanning over all my computer screens and gauging which monitor did what.

"Don't be nice, Erwin," I scolded back, going to take another call. The sooner I got back to whoever actually needed my attention, the sooner I'd get rid of the people who merely wanted my attention. Erwin swatted my hand away from the space bar; I glowered at him.

"Alright, kids. See all these computer screens?" How could you not see them? There were at least six of them, all dedicated to a different assignment. "This one here, as you can see, will show you the location of your caller almost instantly. The satellite tracks your usual SIM card in any phone and will give you the exact longitude and latitude destination. It's a good thing we got this technology in; half the time our callers have no idea where they are."

He continued to explain the rest of the monitors. One of them I used to enter in a complete transcript of what happened during the call. What the caller reported, what happened to them, how quickly they were picked up by police. Another controlled the calls coming in and out, telling me the status of the call I was on, or whether I was even taking calls.

"Now, Levi, I'm sure these fine, young people would enjoy hearing a word or two from the best of the best," he said fondly. He was only saying that because he was the one who took me in, trained me up and stuck me in the back line. I was grateful for the chance he had given me (my record not really allowing anyone else to bestow me that privilege), but I wasn't about to encourage all the other brats he took under his wing.

"I'm pretty sure they wouldn't care." There was an echo of pleas and choruses of 'yes we would'. Damn brats. I heard a giggle beside me. I turned towards it.

Armin only waved at me from his desk not ten feet away from mine, knowing how much misfortune I was suffering. Armin was the only grown man I knew who still giggled. It happened more often than I liked and it was always when I wasn't on call, so I had to hear it. Brats. All of them.

I turned towards the group then, lowering my microphone so it wouldn't brush my lips as I spoke. I looked all of them in the eye once, not seeing an ounce of fear in any of the bright irises that were watching me intently. Fear would be in their eyes soon enough. It was a hard job; it made you grow up quickly.

"There's the obvious," I addressed them all. "Don't get personally attached to the PR-"

"The what?" Some idiot spoke up.

"Raise your hand next time," I barked. "Erwin, you seriously didn't' tell them what PR stands for? That's great. Give them a fighting chance. You're off to a great start, kids."

Erwin only sighed, mentioning that PR stood for 'person reporting', and what we used to address the person on the other end of the line when we didn't know their name.

"Don't get personally attached to the PR," I continued, my hand itching towards the space bar. "You're there to guide them so they can help themselves, not to become their best friend." This was standard instruction for everyone coming into the office (and common sense, mind you). But this is what I said every time Erwin forced me to mingle with the newbies. He was always pestering me about actually taking the time to think of something new to say each time; I think he forgets what my real job is.

"And don't make promises."

"Why not?" Don't tell me that was the same voice.

I looked towards the boy. Young. Close-shaved head. Wide, young eyes. It's a good thing he didn't have any hair because I'd bet he'd have been the first one to have it all scared off him within the first day.

"Because you can't keep them," I said simply, turning and slamming the space bar. With that, Erwin was forced to continue the tour, leaving me be as I answered the other line. I glowered at the retreating backs of morons as I fell back into my routine.

"Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?" I spoke into the microphone, bracing myself for the screaming or heavy breathing that might come.

"Help me!" It was almost immediate. This voice belonged to a boy, I could tell that much. He sounded young as well, but not so young that his voice hadn't cracked. More like towards the age of the new recruits that had just finished bothering me; wouldn't it be great if it was magically one of them?

I kid, of course.

"Calm down, kid," I automatically drawled. "Tell me what's going on?"

"I-I was at the mall, getting a present for my sister! I was just in the car park heading home when this fucking bastard came out of nowhere and knocked me out! He shoved me in the boot of his car! H-how do I get out of here? Isn't there a way to get out of these kinds of situations?"

I entered the information into the system as he spoke, letting him get his story out of the way as he got to what was really wrong. I typed 'kidnapping' into the transcript, then turned to the monitor that tracked all the calls that came in.

The label beside the little, red cell phone tower read 'NO GPS INFORMATION', as if the capital letters would make me believe it even more. Well shit.

"Alright, kid, ca-" it was barely out of my mouth before he was cutting me off.

"Jesus, you really don't expect this sort of thing to happen to you! Why the hell today!?" He was in hysterics.

"Calm d-" I tried to intervene, to get him to _talk_ to me. No such luck.

"Get me out of here! Just get me the hell out of here so I can go home!"

I don't know why I did it. I was usually so calm when it came to shit like this. It was just part of the job. But for some reason his stupid voice got to me. I lost it.

"CALM THE FUCK DOWN!" I screamed into the microphone. Imagine my surprise when-

"I AM FUCKING CALM!"

I was stunned into silence. The entire office had turned to look at my tirade, surprised to see me reacting to something, especially something they were used to seeing me react to the least. I cleared my throat, getting my bearings back again. I could feel Erwin's disapproving eyes boring into the back of my skull.

Yes, Dad. I've been naughty. Lock me up later. Leave me alone for now.

"Okay. Now that we've had our temper tantrum, can we be adults now? There is a way to get you out of there, but I need you to talk to me. Shout at me again and I'll hang up." It was an empty threat of course. I'm not so heartless to hang up on an innocent victim.

"Fine," I heard the boy growl. He was going to be a pleasure to communicate with; I could just tell.

"First things first, what did the guy use to knock you out?" If it was a blow to the head that did it, I might be dealing with a concussion. This might not be a problem just yet, but it could be detrimental later on when I needed the boy to think clearer than he ever would in his life.

"I-I think he used chloroform. I remember a funny smelling cloth going over my mouth," the kid explained. His voice was still strained, but I could hear his efforts to heed my words and talk me through what I needed to know.

"Okay then. At least your head isn't in trouble." Yet. I had no idea what the psychopath planned to do with him, but I wouldn't bother wasting time thinking about it. Avoiding the particulars was one of the many ways an emergency call operator stayed calm in order to do their job.

"Now; I'm sure you don't want me to be calling you 'kid' for the next twenty minutes, so why don't you tell me your name?"

"I-it's Eren. Eren Jaeger," he spoke, his throat going thick. Don't cry on my now, Eren Jaeger.

"Alright, Eren. I'm Levi," I said seriously.

"L-Levi? Alright," Eren spoke, his voice still wavering. I could hear his slow and heavy breathing; he was taking deep breaths. I commended him silently. He was certainly one of the braver ones.

"Now, Eren. What kind of phone are you calling me on?" If it was a standardised phone like most of the kids had these days, then the tracking information should've come up on the screen a few seconds after the call connected. The fact that that ignorant 'NO GPS INFORMATION' was still blinking at me meant he was using a very cheap model.

"I-it's your standard mobile. Pre-paid and disposable."

Ah.

"Hiding from your parents?" Teenagers bought those phones all the time so their parents couldn't track their calls through phone bills and they were easy to dispose of as they were dirt cheap.

"Wh-what? Fuck no! I'm 21! I live in an apartment with a roommate! My work phone got busted and this is just what I got stuck with until the replacement gets in!"

Twenty-one, huh? It only took me a few moments to bring up the search page for the photo ID I'd need. When the search result popped up, I was staring at vibrant green eyes, mussy chocolate hair and cheek bones that would cut if you slapped them. Not bad looking. I could only imagine how he got around on a Friday night.

"Okay, calm down. Remember what I said about talking to me?" The other end was quiet. He was probably pouting at me. Wonder what that looked like? "You said the kidnapper came out of nowhere, so I'm assuming you didn't get a look at this face or the car?"

"No, I didn't. But I'm pretty sure it's an old car; it certainly smells like it," he spoke. I could hear him rustling around in his cramped space.

Smart kid. I didn't even have to ask about the smell. But even though he didn't know it, he had just given me a vital piece of information that would help me with his rescue. No description meant I had nothing to report to the police, no tracking information meant we had no idea where he was. But that didn't mean he wasn't untraceable. It was just going to be someone else who gave me his location.

"Alright, brat," I don't know where the nickname came from. I never let my irritation show when I was talking to victims. It wasn't even that I was irritated with him, it just fell out of my mouth, and there was no point apologising. We both had a job to do.

"You're using an old phone, so we can't trace you like we normally would. No description of the kidnapper or vehicle means nothing to tell the cops," I paused briefly as I heard him moan his frustration. "But you said it's an old car, and those things are more reliable than the new ones in more ways than one. You just have to stay on the line with me, trust me to get you out of there, and don't give up."

There was another pause. I couldn't hear anything. I called his name. Then he spoke.

"If you lose, you die. If you win, you live. If you don't fight, you can't win."

Was this guy a movie-star or something? It didn't matter to me; the fact remained that he now had a resolve. I could plainly hear his determination, and that was a lot easier to work with.

"Okay, Eren. Now, can you see the tail lights? They'll be glowing red," I got into mission mode, thinking through the instructions I had to give him.

"Y-yeah. I see them. I kick them out, right?"

Seriously, who was this kid? He can have a fucking metal after I'm done with him for being one of the easiest calls I've ever had.

"Yes, that's right. Kick it out, then tell me what you see."

There was a minute or two when Eren put the phone down, I could hear him grunting with the effort to get rid of the offending item, the sound as fists connected with plastic echoed around the boot and into the phone.

I heard it pop open, heard the thing crash onto the road distantly. I waited for Eren to come back to me.

"Okay! I got it!" He cheered, his voice free of fear for once, elation taking over as his chance of survival became clearer.

"Good job, Eren. Now tell me what you see?"

"I'm heading down a freeway. Hell if I know which one," he said, irritated now. I'd be too. I'd probably never want to see another freeway again if I was in his position.

"That's fine. A freeway means a lot of cars. A lot of cars means someone's gonna see you when you stick your hand out," were my way of giving him his next instructions.

I waited while he did that. Eren telling me he was trying his best to wave as much as he could through the tight hole. He asked me what to do next. I could hear it in his voice. Hear the desperation and also the dedication. He trusted me. It was at that point that he didn't just trust me because he had to, but because knew. He knew I had the abilities to get him out of there, and he was now placing his life in my hands.

"Now, we wait." I was handling his life so well.

"What?!" Came his instant reply. I chuckled. "Glad to know my pain is so hilarious to you!"

This kid had some bite.

"Hang on, Ere-"

"We've got a PR reporting that there's a person in the boot of the car in front of them! They're on the Rose freeway heading south out of the city!" Armin called into his radio. He explained the exact coordinates to the police before returning to his call.

"Did you hear that, Eren?" I asked into the microphone.

"Y-yeah. Kinda. Did someone just find me?" He was uncertain, but I recognised the kind of uncertainty his voice held. He was probably asking himself if he really was about to get out of this alive.

"Yes, they did. The car that reported you will follow you so we can keep your location on screen until the police come. You're gonna be alright, kid."

I didn't even know why, but I was smiling. It wasn't a broad grin, where my lips reached my ears or anything, but it was a definite curve of the lips. I hadn't gone out of my way to get attached to this kid, just like I normally didn't, but I was far happier Eren would be safe than any other stranger I had spoken with before.

"I'm gonna let the police handle the rest," I spoke, stretching my shoulders. It was definitely time for a coffee.

"Wait!" Eren's voice was panicked again. I froze. What if the car had stopped? What if the kidnapper was getting out? What if he did something to Eren? I swear to God, if that bastard touched even a hair on his head-

"C-can you…can you stay on the line with me? U-until I'm officially out of the woods?" Eren asked, trying not to fumble over his words but failing miserably.

I relaxed. I looked up again at his profile photo, those vibrant eyes looking at me expectantly; I settled into my chair.

"Yeah, kid. I'll stay on the line. I promise," the words were out before I could think.

I had just made the biggest mistake any emergency call operator could make. I was such a fucking hypocrite.

But what was more surprising then that was that I meant it. I genuinely didn't want to leave Eren until I knew he was truly safe. It was that damned voice; at first it had come off as irritating, but now it was just plain soothing.

"I thought you said you weren't going to call me kid!" Eren cut through my thoughts, his voice practically growling now.

"Too bad, kid."

"I told you, I'm 21!"

"That's still younger than me and anyone younger than me is a kid!"

What the hell was going on? It wasn't that I was getting emotionally attached. I was only speaking with him for his own sake. I couldn't have him hyperventilating before the cops got to him. But, it was fun. It was fun bantering with him like he was some kind of old friend who hadn't called in a few weeks.

"Oh yeah? How old are you then?" he asked me. I hesitated. I wasn't really embarrassed about my age; I wasn't considered a grandpa yet. But I didn't want him to know for some reason. I told him anyway.

"I'm 34."

"Seriously?!" He sounded honestly surprised. "I would've guessed maybe early forties."

Dick.

"Sorry to disappoint."

"No, no! That's not what I meant! Just," he was careful around his words now. "You're voice is really deep and I really only hear that kind of tone from really aged guys."

"Am I supposed to be taking any of this as a compliment?"

"I meant to say your voice sounds really nice. It's been a pleasure having it in my ear."

I honestly didn't know what to say to that. The way he rolled the word 'pleasure' off his tongue made it sound as if he'd be taking my voice and using it as a weapon on his arousal in the shower later tonight. I didn't know what to think of that, either.

"You mentioned you had a roommate?" I changed the subject.

"Yeah. His name is Armin. He actually works as an emergency call operator as well."

"What a small world we live in," I spoke, glancing over to Armin who was furiously keeping up with the car's current location, continuing to give directions to the police. I decided not to mention Eren to Armin; he'd find out later anyway.

"What about you?" Eren asked curiously.

"What about me?"

"You got any family?"

Who told this kid he could get so chatty with me? Oh right; I did.

"No," I should've left it at that. "My dad left when I was ten. I was raised by a single mum until I was twelve when she decided she hated me too and dumped me in foster care. I jumped around from home to home until I was eighteen and could go live by myself. But then I was jumping around from city to city. I finally settled a few years ago. Got hired here. " I really should've left it at that. "Then one day I get a phone call from this bratty kid who thinks he can ask me all my dirty details," I added jokingly onto the end. In truth, I had no idea what made me open up so easily. I hadn't even opened up to Erwin that easily, yet here I was opening up to this stranger.

Eren only laughed into the phone; it sounded only slightly strained. He was far more relaxed now.

"Well next time-" The line went dead.

The tone in my ear had me gripping the desk in shock. Shit. I looked at the screen, at the flashing red letters reading 'CALL DISCONNECTED'. Why did everything have to be in fucking capitals? I get it!

"Eren!" I practically screamed, smashing my fist on the re-dial button. The call connected, but it kept ringing. It didn't stop. Then there was a noise before it went to voice mail.

I hung up and smashed the button again. This time it went straight to voice mail. The phone had either been turned off or destroyed. Shit.

I slumped back into my chair, resting my head against the back and pinching the bridge of my nose. I tried to reason that there was nothing I could do now. The police had been on their way and Eren would be safe. Besides, I wasn't getting emotionally attached. No I wasn't.

But I had made a promise. I had promised to stay with him until the cops came, and even though it wasn't my fault, I had broken that promise. I should say I'm not surprised; you can't keep the promises you make to PRs.

"Levi?" I head a soft voice beside me, a hand touching my shoulder. I opened my eyes to find Armin staring at me with fear etched into every corner of his face. That's right. Armin and Eren were probably good friends, and Armin had no idea that the report he just made had hopefully helped save Eren's life.

After I explained everything, Armin started to hyperventilate. Most of the office crowded around him, giving him several paper bags to breath in and out of while he sat on my char, his back ram-rod straight, his limbs shaking.

It's was almost two hours before we get the report that a twenty-one year old male was found in the boot of a car just off the Rose freeway, safe and unharmed. Both Armin and I breathed heavy sighs of great relief.

Coffee is definitely one of man's better inventions. I take long swigs of it as I sit on my balcony, trying to concentrate on my book, trying not to let my mind wander back to today's events.

It doesn't matter what Eren does next, so long as he doesn't get kidnapped again. I try to reason that it's ridiculous that I'm even still thinking about him. But I am. I think about his eyes, how they probably would light up at anything he's talking about, burn when he's angry, drown when he's miserable. His face looked so young, it was hard to believe he was twenty-one, but that's what the profile definitely said.

I wondered if his body was just as good looking as his face and I then proceeded to choke on my coffee as I realised what I was thinking. God, did I really need a good nap?

But I couldn't stop replaying his last words over and over again in my head.

_Next time?_ Next time what?

The next few weeks passed relatively uneventful (as uneventful as things can get in my line of work). I had few losses, managed to take down a couple of perverts, a bank robber. Things were going smoothly.

I still dreamt about him though. Using that one reference guide I had of him. I tried not to be a total pervert and bring up his profile in the moments I wasn't doing anything; but I did. It was ridiculous how infatuated I was with him.

Then one fateful day (gag me) I'm finishing up a call from a little girl who broke her goldfish's bowl, when two people appear by my side. I don't bother glancing at them just yet.

"Okay, if your mum's home now I can leave her to it. She'll know what to do," I tell the girl before hanging up and putting my microphone down. I turn to see Armin and none other than Eren Jaeger himself beside me.

Eren is looking at me as if someone told him Christmas came early. Brat. Cute brat. Shit.

"Levi, this is-" Armin begins.

"I know who it is," I cut in. "And I'm pissed off at you for disconnecting on me, brat."

My sunny disposition wasn't something that a lot of people usually took with grace; those who were brave enough to stay around while I actually got to know them were few and far between. But you don't spend thirty minutes on the phone with a guy who you have to trust your life to without learning a few things. Apparently Eren had learnt my bark was worse than my bite; damn him for being right.

"Gee, sorry. I was kind of caught up in the whole sudden sunlight in my eyes and fifteen cops tugging on my arm asking me stupid questions." His sarcasm sounded beautiful. "Besides, it was you who promised to stay with me."

I scoffed at him before he continued.

"Okay, that's only partly true. I am sorry but the cops didn't find me for about another two minutes after we got separated. Truth is, my phone's battery died. Trust me, I was just as pissed off as you were; so don't feel guilty. I know you wouldn't have broken your promise if you had the chance to keep it."

He sounded sincerely genuine. You didn't hear that in a lot of kids his age, all of them too hyped up on booze and drugs to bother considering what that might do for their attitude towards other people. I found myself smiling again, looking up at his eyes and noting how that profile picture simply didn't do them justice.

"Alright, I accept your apology and offer my own. I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise; but get a more reliable phone, dammit!"

Eren was now grinning at me too. "Okay, fair deal. But I actually came here to thank you."

I could only keep looking at his face, at his curved jaw. Straight, white teeth. Thin lips. He was definitely good looking.

"Victims don't normally get to meet the person on the other end when they call nine-one-one; I was lucky Armin knew exactly who you were. So thank you for saving my life."

I didn't mean to, but I flinched. I wasn't very good with humility to begin with, but his gratitude struck a chord with me.

"I didn't save your life," I clarified. "I just told you what to do, it's your own damn fault for listening to me."

Eren huffed, crossing his arms. His face fell into something that should be menacing but on his baby face, it only came out as a sort of menacing pout. So that's what his pout looked like; it was frickin' adorable.

"Just shut up and accept my gratitude!" he exclaimed. Armin giggled beside him. I put my elbow on my desk, resting my jaw on the knuckles, smirking up at him.

"Fine. But I don't take words easily." I was flirting now; and he knew it. His grin broadened at me, as if he was hoping this conversation would go in the direction it had.

"Good. Then I can buy you a drink this weekend? Will that be enough?" His voice changed, his usually sharp syllables blurring together in one, smooth melody. He was practically purring. I had the feeling I was going to learn to love that purr.

"It's a start." There was no way I was letting this kid off the hook with only one drink.

Armin went back to his desk while Eren and I continued to flirt back and forth. He mentioned that he was going to be in therapy for a few weeks, that he still had some questioning left to do at the police station but they were taking it in shifts so as not to send him into shock. What was surprising was how well he seemed to be handling it.

When I asked, he told me it was all to do with me. He claimed if it had been anybody else, somebody who would've showed him sympathy and treated him like a wounded puppy, he probably would've felt a lot more freaked out about it then he was. He told me because he dealt with assholes like me every day (he worked as a concierge at the hotel three blocks down from here), it had almost felt _normal_ kicking those tail lights out and hanging out in the boot of a car talking to a random stranger. Fucking weird kid.

Ten minutes later, he claimed he needed to go back to work. He was milking his 'trauma' by getting them to give him longer breaks, which is why he had been able to hang around for so long. I wanted to cheer him on for that one.

Just as he turned to leave though, I remembered something important that I desperately had been wanting to ask him.

"Hey, Jaeger!" I called after him, having gotten comfortable with him enough to basically call him anything I wanted; which was everything but his first name.

"What?" he inquired.

"What were you going to say to me? Before we disconnected I mean."

I saw his aquamarine eyes flicker with confusion, before light up with realisation. The smirk that spread across his lips had my heart trying to jackhammer its way out of my chest. Okay, that was just sinful.

"I was going to say that next time I get kidnapped, it'd be my turn to give you all my dirty details."

The way he said it had me thinking he wasn't talking about some giving me his life story.

Six weeks later, Eren asked me officially to be his boyfriend. I all but growled my answer into his ear.


End file.
